The Gabrielino Tribe By: Frances Vano November 17, th grade, Mrs. Johnson

Location  The Gabrielino Tribe lived along the coast in Los Angeles, Orange County, Western Riverside and San Bernadino Counties. Some of them lived on islands such as Santa Catalina, San Nicolas and San Clemente. The places had pleasant weathers. They lived near bays, the Los Angeles River and streams.

Homes The Gabrielino tribe made their houses by putting poles in a circle and bending them to meet the middle. They had either domed shaped roofs or rounded roofs. They put tar, shells, soapstone, tule, fern or grass on them.

Food  All Gabrielinos depended on the pacific ocean for food. Gabrielinos ate tuna, swordfish, sharks, shellfish, sea mammals, sea birds, acorns, pinon nuts, sage, berries, edible cacti, deer, small animals, birds, snakes, rabbit and small rodents. They also ate sea lions harbor seals, sea otters, elephant seals, rock scallops, mussels, sea urchins, caterpillar, grass seeds, roots, blackberries, whales and cactus plant. The food they cooked (usually).

Clothing  Gabrielino women wore aprons made of deerskin, bark from cotton and willow tree, tule and grass. The women also wore basket caps, coated their hair with clay, put flowers on their hair, or tucked it behind their ear. The women wore long shell necklaces with soapstone, whalebone, and ollivella shells. They also wore shell earrings.  The men wore short capes made out of deerskin and rabbit furs. They also wore robes sewn together with milkweed and yucca fiber thread. The men wore warm capes made out of sea otter or bird skins with feathers. For their hair, they wore it either braided, top knotted or let it hang free. The men also wore earrings made out of cane.  Under the age of ten, children didn’t wear anything.  Everyone of the tribe wore tatoos either on the chin or the forehead. Also, they wore sandals made out of yucca fiber or just went barefoot. Costumes were worn and made out of either bird feathers, called plumage, sea otter fur, or beads. They also wore feather head dresses.

Religion  The Gabrielino tribe had a Yuvar ceremony for brave men only. They would go to an oval area with willow poles around. The willow poles were covered with bird feathers, animal skins and pretty flowers. The inside was decorated with sand paintings of the sun and moon.  Another ceremony was the mourning ceremony and this ceremony would celebrate people who died during the year. Everybody would dance, sing, visited each other and feasted with seafood. Every baby born during the year would finally get their name.

Trade  The Gabrielino tribe gave soapstone, steatite rocks, salt, sea otter skins, dried fish and shell beads to the inner coast Indians for trade. They got acorns, seeds, knife blades, deerskin and obsidian in return from trade.